Prescott’s POV
“In five days. Eruba.” I read out the bloodied letter once again, the content of the letter was insignificant but the name inscribed on it made my stomach churn. I felt my bones snapping, my heart was racing as I glanced around the foyer. Searching for the shadowy figure.
It was certain, that the figure I saw was a rogue, rogues were there in the Villa. They were nearer than I had thought.
“Rogues are in the Villa! Rogues are here! My people are in danger!” I howled angrily, my head spun around, checking for whoever threw the paper but I couldn’t see anyone.
Even if I didn’t catch a glimpse of the intruder, one thing I knew was, someone was there with me. Someone was there, I could feel the presence. No scent was detected in the air, but I could feel that eerie feeling.
With a lightning-fast movement, I snapped my head and saw a shadowy figure darting through the darkness at the opposite artery. My senses heightened, and I sped after the figure with my claws outstretched as I ran after it. As I reached the figure, I grabbed it by the neck, my claws sinking into its flesh. With a howl, I hurled it against the wall, its body hitting with a sickening thud.
“Ahh!” it let out an agony cry as its body collided with the wall before hitting the floor with a loud thud.
I jumped on the figure, raising my hand, ready to smack my claws into its chest again when I caught sight of a pair of cloudy grey eyes, staring up at me.
“Wharton?” I growled, my hand dropped to his side as I pinned him to the floor with one hand.
Why the hell was it my Beta? Why the hell was he out there when I was going after some figures that broke into the Villa?
“Your Majesty?” Wharton hissed in pain, he moved his hands up to his neck, trying to push my hand off his neck, but I was stronger than he was.
I couldn’t say anything. I was speechless that I couldn’t bring myself to utter a word.
“Why did you attack me, your Majesty?” his voice shook with fear, he groaned, hitching his chest in pain, it was certain that he was battling the natural poison of my claws and it wouldn’t be long before the poison spread across his body.
“What the hell are you doing here, Wharton?” I growled, my eyebrows knitted with furry as I glared down at him.
Wharton coughed, throwing his head back as he tried to conceal the pain that surged through him. “I was looking for her Highness; your wife.” he coughed again.
My grip on his neck loosened at the mention of Nova. Why was he mentioning her name? To what brought the Queen to the matter on the ground?
“What about the Queen?” I howled, grabbed his collar and pulled him up from the floor. My heart hammered against my chest as I pinned him to the wall.
“Tell me, what the hell happened to Nova?” I yelled, my grip on his neck tightened which made Wharton gasp for breath.
“Your… Your Majesty?” He choked out my name, I pulled him by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back harshly against the wall, making him groan in pain.
“I think I know what you are.” I panted heavily as I glared hard at him, tightening my grip on his “You are one of the rogues, that makes sense of the eerie feeling I usually feel when you’re around me.”
“What?” Wharton chuckled, his laughter didn’t last a minute before he began to cough out blood.
Great! The poison had spread over his entire body. He needed medicine as soon as possible else he would die for real.
“Where is he? Where is your leader; Eruba, where is Eruba?” I howled out, my chest was burning in fear, the fact that Wharton, a friend I had known since I was a child might end up being an enemy made my heart tighten in grief.
“Eruba?” Wharton scoffed, a confused glare spread across his face, “Heaven knows you’re being ridiculous, Prescott.” he used the last strength in him to push my arms off his shirt, he dropped to the floor, panting heavily as he stared at me.
“Why would you cast an evil eye on me when I was only trying to help?” he cried out, his claws spread out as he gripped his chest, trying to make himself conscious for a little longer.
“Help?” I scoffed, squatting beside him on the floor. I gripped his hair, forcing him to stare at me while I forced out the truth from his mouth.
“Why are you out here, everyone is in there at the hall, why are you here when I was on a shadow’s tail?” I gritted my teeth, my grip on his hair was so tight that I might end up pulling out half of his hair.
“I…” Wharton coughed, his voice was getting weaker each time he opened his mouth to talk. “I may be out here, but I’m here for the Queen.” my heart raced the moment he mentioned Nova for the second time.
“Why do you need the Queen? The last time I checked, you’re not a fan of her because she’s a fucking werewolf!” I barked.
“Correct! I don’t like her, just because I’m looking for her doesn’t mean I’ve grown fond of her. The werewolf girl is in danger, you idiot!” he yelled at the top of his voice.
“Wait, what? Nova is in danger?” I stammered, my heart leaping into my throat. “What happened? Tell me everything!”
“You… you have to let go of my hair if you want me to tell you what I know.” he groaned out.
I hastily pulled away from him, my heart leaping in my throat, threatening to bounce out of my mouth.
“I… I got a… message, written on a piece of paper smeared with a dark, reddish substance. It looked like… Like blood.” He coughed into his sleeve, a worried look on his face. “I don’t know what to make of it, but it mentioned the Queen… Something about her being in danger.”
It was as if my head was going to burst open. I fell on my butt, my fingers curling into a tight fist. Wharton got the letter too, he fucking got the same letter.
“Hold on let me get this straight,” I mumbled, my mind racing to process the news. “You got a message, written on a piece of paper smeared with something that looked like blood, warning that Nova was in danger?” I felt my heart start to pound in my chest.
“When did you get this message? Where did it come from? What does the letter say?” I gulped down nervously, the fact that I had attacked my Beta for thinking he was the shadow made my stomach churn with guilt.
“It’s… Here. The letter is here.” Wharton fumbled around in his coat pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. He handed it to me with shaking hands, and I took it, my stomach twisting into knots.
“If you want the Queen alive, you must send the King’s head to me in five days,” I read aloud, a chill running down my spine. The note trembled in my hand, and my heart pounded in my chest. I looked up at Wharton, the horror of the situation sinking in.
‘In five days. Eruba’ the note I got earlier just made sense to me, that was what they meant by ‘five days’ right?
“This is a ransom note, Prescott. Someone has taken Nova and is demanding a gruesome price for her return. And that ransom was your death. Do you know who might be behind this letter?” Wharton coughed out, staring at me with his face shimmered with worries.
“Eruba!” I mumbled, my fists clenching to my sides. “It’s that fucking loser who sent these messages. I got one of those.” I hastily stood up from the floor, my heart racing in my chest.
“Where are you going?” Wharton coughed, he tried getting up from the floor but he was unable to stand up to his feet on his own.
“Mind link any doctor available to bring you the antidote for the poison. I need to look for Nova. She’s still there at the banquet hall.” I gulped hard, and Wharton laughed amidst his pain.
“You really are slow-witted, aren’t you?” he groaned between coughs, flecks of blood staining his lips. “If the Queen were there at the banquet hall, I wouldn’t need or bother myself to look for her, would I?” He took a ragged breath, his hand clutching at his chest.
“I fear the worst has happened. We must act quickly before it’s too late.” he gasped for breath, sticking out his tongue to draw air in.
I arched my brows in confusion. “What are you insinuating?”
“I saw the Queen leaving the banquet hall with a lady I didn’t recognize, but when I looked for them later, after I got the message, they were nowhere to be found. I fear they may have been abducted.” he groaned, his chest rose and fell heavily.
“Abducted?” I barked, my expression darkened, my jaw clenching in anger. “Stay right here, I will be back.”
With Nova’s safety weighing heavily on my mind, I raced through the office buildings, heading back to the banquet hall. As I ran, I reached out with my mind, desperately trying to reach her through our bond. But I couldn’t feel her presence. It was as if she was lost to me as if my life were hanging in the balance. The night seemed darker than usual, the shadows lengthening as the moon faded behind a layer of clouds. I felt like I was hurtling into a void, a sense of dread creeping over me.